Hi, I'm Nellwyn!

Apr 13 The REAL Problem with Condos

Toronto's Condo boom is seemingly never-ending. Despite countless condos springing up over the last 5-10 years, I can count seven more under construction in the three block radius around my house. (Disclaimer: I live in a new-build condo. But I rent and would never buy one.)

Urban planners, economist, and architects will tell you all about the problems this building boom will cause our city: population density issues, real estate prices, obstructed lake views, and shoddy workmanship that will turn these shiny new buildings into slums by 2020.

image via google

Not being an urban planner, economist, or architect myself, I'll leave those arguments to the pros. I am here today to tell you what I perceive to be the REAL problem with the sea of condo construction I now find myself living in.

1. Access to Burritos. The condo construction site at the end of my street has completely cut off my direct access to the take-out burrito place. Now I have to walk aaallll the way around the construction, which takes an extra 1-2 minutes and burns 3-4 more calories! The last thing I want when I'm on my way for a burrito is to burn any unnecessary calories.

2. Noise. Sure the construction doesn't start until 9am, but what they don't understand is that not all of us are gainfully employed. Some of us need to sleep in after staying up late drinking too much bourbon in the vain hope that alcohol and sleeplessness will spark literary genius.

3. Mud. When I'm walking around my neighbourhood in shoes I can't afford, the last thing I want to encounter is a sidewalk full of construction mud. By living in downtown Toronto, I've signed up for a life of impractical overpriced footwear because city-living promised me a mud-free concrete jungle.

So you can see now what the condo boom is truly costing us. It really is the urban-crisis of my generation.

In all seriousness, if you want to learn more about what the urban planners, economists, and architects have to say about condo-problems, click here for a CBC documentary on the issue.